Iowa’s Kalen Walker went from unknown to Big Ten 100-meter champion

IOWA CITY — There aren’t any stoplights in Eddyville, Iowa, population of around 1,000.

Eddyville is small-town, rural Iowa. Midwest countryside. Tight-knit community. Some local jobs come in the form of Cargill Corn Milling, Ajinomoto Animal Nutrition North America and Wacker Chemical Corporation, all of which have facilities in Eddyville.

Born in nearby Ottumwa, Kalen Walker grew up primarily in Eddyville. He attended high school at Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, where his graduating class was in the neighborhood of 60 to 70.

This is the place that produced this year’s Big Ten Conference champion in the 100-meter dash.

On May 18, Walker’s time of 10.17 seconds edged out Southern California’s Eddie Nketia, a former college football player, who recorded a time of 10.18. Among the others that Walker beat at Oregon’s Hayward Field was former Ducks defensive back Rodrick Pleasant, who was a four-star prospect on the gridiron in high school.

Walker was nowhere near that.

He had no Division I or Division II track offers in high school and began his college career at Indian Hills Community College. That was further than either of his parents got in their athletic careers — neither one made it past the high school level. When Walker first got his opportunity with the University of Iowa’s track and field program, it was as a preferred walk-on.

But in May, Walker reached rare air, joining two-time champion George Page, Tim Dwight and Justin Austin as the select few from the Iowa men’s program to win a Big Ten title in the 100 meters. And Walker did it in the new-look Big Ten, which includes four former Pac-12 programs.

Walker has gone from obscurity — an under-recruited, nationally unknown kid from Eddyville — to taking down the Goliaths of the collegiate track and field world and making a name for himself in the sport.

The story is so improbable that it’s reasonable to wonder: How was this even possible?

“That’s kind of the neat part about the story with Kalen,” his father Ian said, “he kind of came from nowhere.”

Belief

During a youth baseball all-star game, Walker’s team was struggling, to say the least. They were getting dismantled. Their pitching situation was depleted. Walker, who took over the pitching duties, got hammered by a comebacker and went down.

Ian, who was coaching the team, looked at his son, who was teary, and pointed to his heart.

“What’s in here, son?” Ian asked.

Walker looked at his father, wiped off the tears and got up.

“Let’s go,” Walker said.

“Just the mental toughness,” Ian said. “The fact that he knew we needed him. The physical toughness. He just got drilled with a line drive. And just the mental toughness to do it. He’s a tough kid — physically and mentally tough. But also, he’s there for his team. He won’t quit on them.”

Walker was a four-sport athlete in high school, competing in football, basketball, baseball and track. There was a time when track wasn’t even his priority. He loved football and baseball. But as a junior in high school, Walker started to take track more seriously and got hooked on seeing his own improvement.

Iowa director of track and field Joey Woody was aware of the Eddyville product from camps Walker attended, but his times weren’t good enough to become a Hawkeye out of high school.

“I just remember this real tiny kid — because he’s a small dude — coming in and he just had like freakish turnover,” Woody said. “His feet would move quick and hit the ground. But he just didn’t have a lot of force output on the ground, so he wasn’t really, like, fast. He was just really quick. I was like, man, you would be a good football player.”

The potential for Walker to have a breakout high school senior season was wiped away by COVID-19. His recruitment was low-profile. He heard from Division III and NAIA programs but elected to continue his career at Indian Hills.

After one indoor and one outdoor season at Indian Hills, Walker went through the recruiting process again and got a call out of the blue from Woody. Though Iowa was the only power-conference school in contact with Walker, he received offers from smaller Division I programs this time around, including virtually a full ride to Northern Iowa. 

Even though Iowa presented only a preferred walk-on spot, it was a no-brainer for Walker. Both of his parents, Ian and Christina, attended Iowa. Walker grew up rooting for the Hawkeyes. As a kid, he waited in line at a mall in Oskaloosa to get an autograph from football star Tyler Sash. Another time, Walker went to Kids’ Day at Kinnick and got a football signed.

“It was really just betting on myself and believing in myself,” Walker said of his decision to take the preferred walk-on spot at Iowa over other opportunities. “Because financially, it made no sense to come here… I feel like I just needed the platform. I just believed that I could do it.” 

Speed

As Walker fidgeted on the field, a voice boomed throughout Kinnick Stadium last fall: “Kalen Walker is one of our fastest sprinters on the men’s track and field team.”

Walker had pitched this idea to Iowa: What if he ran a 40-yard dash at halftime of an Iowa football game? On Oct. 26, 2024, it came to fruition. The recorded attendance for Iowa football’s game against Northwestern was more than 69,000, roughly 69 times the population of Eddyville. 

In front of an eagerly watching crowd, Walker blazed across the turf.

 He recorded a time of 4.15 seconds, topping the fastest time in NFL Combine history, which is 4.21.

Walker’s YouTube video, which provided a behind-the-scenes look at the experience, has more than 300,000 views.

“C’mon,” Walker said, pounding his chest after finding out his time. “Hey, that’s what we do.”

Woody got a glimpse of what Walker might become leading into his first season with the Hawkeyes. The Indian Hills transfer excelled in preseason physical testing.

“He was just like through the roof with all of his testing,” Woody said. “And I was like, this guy’s pretty special. He’s got some unique tools. He just hadn’t quite executed it on the track yet.”

From there, Walker has risen the ranks in the college track landscape.

Walker holds Iowa school records in 60 meters (6.51), 100 meters (10.06), and as part of 4×100-meter relay (38.64). He is a three-time All-American, earning first-team honors in 60 meters (2024), along with second-team honors in 60 meters (2022) and as part of 4×100-meter relay (2023). In 2024, Walker was a semifinalist in the U.S. Olympic Trials for the 100-meter dash.

What makes his progress even more remarkable is that he has navigated injuries at various points during his Iowa career, including a stress fracture in his foot, along with tearing in his patellar tendon, quad and hamstring.

While Walker has sizzling speed on the track, he is more deliberate when it comes to his mental fortitude.  

“He is slow at overreacting,” Ian said. “He’s kind of slow to anger. He’s slow to frustration. He’s slow towards judging other people. He’s just a really good guy. He doesn’t get bent out of shape. He stays composed. I would say he’s slow at getting stressed out.” 

Walker’s abnormal ascent can be attributed to multiple factors. His senior track season at Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont being derailed by COVID-19 didn’t help his high school recruitment. Walker is a late bloomer. But he has also put in the work to allow that growth to actually take place.

“I just don’t enjoy drinking or partying or any of that,” Walker said. “I just don’t enjoy it. I came from that small town, man. I was a country boy. I like hunting, fishing. I don’t like doing crazy stuff. I’m not a very social person, either, so I feel like that probably maybe helps a little bit too.”

Walker’s Big Ten title in the 100-meter dash precedes his upcoming appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field West first round in College Station, Texas, which begins May 28. If Walker advances past the West first round, he would earn a spot at the NCAA Championships in June.

There could still be more accomplishments on the horizon for Walker, who is now on scholarship and can still return to the Hawkeyes next year.

“I just want people to look at my journey and just feel like they can believe in themselves and keep grinding, chase their dreams, chase passions,” Walker said. “Just do their thing, find a way to be successful.”

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com